The Flower Remedy
by SilkenSpider
Summary: Ino Yamanaka works in her parents' flower shop. When a boy she never thought she would love walks in, her life begins to change. What will happen to their relationship? Will it last or sabataged by a pink haired devil? Read and review please!


**This is my fourth fanfic of Naruto. I know Itachi Uchiha and Ino Yamanaka are weird together, but I thought 'Hey, wouldn't it be nice to write about a couple no one expects to be together?' There may be slight OOC with Itatchi but I hope you'll like it anyway. I added some parts of a book that Ino is reading, too. Enjoy! **

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto.**

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"Ino, get up!" My mother shouted from outside my door.

"I'm up! What do you want?" I called back, yawning and stretching.

"I need you to take over the store while I'm gone. I'll be back by dinner." I heard her footsteps receding down the stairs.

Great. Today was the day that I was going to go shopping with my friends and I had to cancel to work in my mother and father's flower shop. But I loved our family's flowers, so I wasn't all that bummed out.

I got up and took a shower. Then I headed to the shop. I flipped the closed sign to open and walked to the register. There was a note taped to the counter. It read:

Ino,

Make sure the flowers are watered and the customers leave happy.

I'm counting on you,

Daddy

I tore the note off and threw it into the garbage. I knew the routine. 1. Water the flowers 2. Make sure that all of the greeting cards are in the right place 3. Check the inventory. I've done this a million times before. But Dad still leaves notes to remind me.

After all of my chores were done, I sat behind the counter and read my book, _The Flower Remedy. _

_Lilac Rose stood in the beautiful garden. The flowers were all blooming nicely and their colors were absolutely gorgeous. Lilac picked a yellow lily and sniffed it. It smelled like dew-covered grass in the early summer morning. _

_Lilac felt a hand on her shoulder and spun to see her mother standing behind her."The flowers smell heavenly, Mother. How is Grandmother this morning?" Lilac asked. Her grandmother, Joyce, was ill. She had a cough and a sneeze, Lilac's mother, Lily was afraid no one could cure. But Lilac knew that there was a special flower in this garden that could heal her sickly grandmother. It was the snapdragons. But they did not bloom till the fall._

_"She hasn't stopped coughing all day. I'm afraid that she is getting worse. If she isn't cured soon I'm afraid she won't make it." Lily whispered, picking a gardenia._

Someone cleared their throat. I jumped and had to hold in my scream. I set my book down and looked up. Itachi Uchiha stood in front of me.

"Can I help you with something?" I asked politely.

"Um, no, I just came in to see you." He said, flipping his blue hair out of his eyes.

"Um, why me?" I asked, surprised that an Uchiha had actually talked to me. Sasuke, Itachi's younger brother, didn't like me at all. Even though I loved him before Sakura Haruno did.

"Because. I just did." Itachi said, curtly.

"Oh, okay then." I muttered, tapping my fingers on the counter.

I heard a bell ding at the front of the store. I peaked around Itatchi's body and saw a customer walking in.

"Excuse me, Itachi. I have work to do." I stepped around the counter and up to the lady who was looking at some lilies.

"Can I help you with anything, ma'am?" I asked her.

"Yes, I'm looking for some carnations and I can't seem to find them anywhere else in the village. I was wondering if you might have some." The lady said.

"Oh, carnations. Let me check." I went to the computer and checked the inventory. We had some carnations left. But we needed to order more. "Yes, we have some in. They should be over by the hydrangeas." I said to her. And to Itachi I said, "Can you come back some other time? I'm kind of busy."

"Yeah." Itatchi said, taking a few steps back." See ya."

I nodded. That was odd. Why would a guy from the Akatsuki clan come to Konoha? And why would he like me? Itachi Uchiha was a killer. He murdered his whole clan. Including his mother and father. I was somewhat afraid of him. Almost everyone was.

The lady came up to me with her handful of flowers and thrust them at me. "I'll take these."

"Okay, vase or plastic?" I asked her.

"Oh, um, a vase." She said taking out her wallet.

I punched some things into the cash register and it beeped. "$52.50 is your total. Would you like to pick out a card for just $00.99 more?"

She shook her and took out a hundred dollar bill and handed it to me. "Here you are, young lady."

I gave her her change and she leaned in close to my face. "If I were you, I wouldn't go cavorting about with the likes of him. He looked mean." The woman stalked away before I could tell her that I wasn't planning on cavorting with him. I didn't even like him. He was a ruthless being.

I made a 'humph' sound and sat down again. I opened my book from where I left off.

_"That's terrible. I really hope we can find something to cure her." Lilac said. She walked to the swing set and sat down. Her mother sat down beside her. Lilac wondered if it was the right time to tell her mother of the snapdragon remedy. She eventually decided to tell her mother._

"_Mother, I know what can sure Grandmother." Lilac confessed._

"_What is it?" Lily asked, she stared at her daughter, hope flickering in her eyes._

"_Snapdragon Tea. It can cure any sickness. But our snapdragons aren't blooming yet. They only bloom in the fall." Lilac shivered at the thought of her grandmother dying._

"_Let me show you something." Lily took her daughters hand and led Lilac to the spot where they grew their snapdragons. There was nothing there but bare earth._

_Lilac watched as her mother swept her hand over the earth. Right before her eyes, green little weeds grew from the ground where Lily had touched._

"_How did you do that?" Lilac asked incredulously._

"_It's a family secret. We can grow things with the wave of our hands. It's time to determine if you, too, have the gift." Lily took Lilac's hand and swept it over the plants. They shriveled up and sank back into the ground. "We also have the power to destroy the plants that we grow." _

_Lilac stared at her palm in wonderment. How did she do that? She touched her hand to the ground and the beautiful purple green and pink flowers bloomed. Lily picked the petals off of the flowers and hugged her daughter. "Good work, Lilac, darling." She kissed her forehead and took off inside the house._

I was so engrossed with my book I didn't see the man walk into the shop. He stood at the register, but he didn't say anything. I finally lifted my eyes to see Itatchi staring at me intently.

"Can I help you?" I asked, closing my book.

"Yeah. You can go out with me." Itachi said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Why don't you ask someone from your own species?" I asked harshly.

He stared at me, his expression stony. At first I thought he was going to hit me but he nodded and walked out of the shop.

I flipped open my book again, but I couldn't concentrate on the book. All I could think about was the expression on Itachi's face when I turned him down. His face was hard but his eyes were soft and filled with hurt. I wish I hadn't been so mean to him.

I closed up shop at six o'clock sharp and walk through the streets of Konoha to the park. I sat on the swing and closed my eyes. I was thinking about Itachi again. I kept seeing his face behind my eyelids.

I got off the swing and headed back to my house. When I got home, I headed straight to my room. I didn't bother to say hi to my parents. When I walked into my room, the first thing I saw was a box.

I walked slowly toward it, afraid to open it. I picked it up and studied it. It had a card on top. It read:

To: Ino Yamanaka

From: Mommy and Daddy

Thanks for helping out at the store today. We thought that we would get you something special for it. Thanks again

M&D

I laughed. Mom and Dad had sent me a gift. They spoiled me so much! I tore open the box and in it I saw a black taffeta dress. I gasped and took it out. It was the dress that I had been saving up to buy. It must have cost a fortune.

I set the dress down and ran to my mom and dad.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I shouted and hugged them both.

"It was our pleasure, sweetheart." My father said, squeezing my shoulders.

"Well, that was nice, but you didn't have to. I was saving up to buy it." I explained.

"You deserve it." My mother said.

I thanked them again and then went to go try it on. I slipped into the silky fabric and stood in front of the mirror and spun. It was beautiful and it hugged my curves perfectly. It swished back and forth as I swayed.

I heard a low whistle from behind me. I looked over my shoulder and saw Itachi leaning against the doorframe of my closet.

"How did you get in here?" I asked incredulously.

"Through the window." He replied, moving closer to me.

"Well, you shouldn't do that. I like to have privacy, you know." I said, glaring at him.

Itachi put his hands up in surrender and said, "Okay, if you want me to leave I will."

I shook my head. "It's fine. I guess if you want you can stay for dinner. But you'd have to go to the front door so my parents didn't know you snuck in through my window."I said.

"Sure." He waved and slid out of the window. I slipped out of my dress and got back into my outfit. I hung the dress in the back of the closet and headed downstairs.

As I was coming down the stairs, I saw my mother pulling open the door. I ran to her. "Who is it?" I asked, innocently widening my eyes.

"It's that Itachi fellow, from the Akatsuki. I'll let you talk to him." My mother said, raising one eyebrow questioningly. She looked like she was going to say something more, but she shook her head and walked away.

I stared back at her for a second, then went to the door. "Hey." I laughed.

"Hi. Are you going to ask them if I can come in?" He asked, laughing a little bit, too.

"Yeah." I turned around and shouted, "Mom, can Itachi stay for dinner?" I called.

"Sure, why not!" My mother called back.

"You're in." I told Itachi and stepped back so he could come in.

We said introductions and sat at the table to eat. I sat with Itatchi on my right and my mother on my left. My father sat at the head of the table.

"So, Itachi, tell me about yourself and why you came to Konoha." Dad said.

"Well, I have a brother. Sasuke. I'm sure you know him." Dad nodded and Itatchi continued. "I came to Konoha to ask Ino if she would like to go out sometime. And she said yes and invited me for dinner."

I threw Itachi an oh-no-you-didn't look and he smiled at me.

"Well, I'm glad she did." My mother put in."You're a very nice boy."

I sighed. Great, my parents liked the guy I wasn't interested in. I rolled my eyes and plastered a fake smile on my face for the rest of the time that Itachi was here.

When Itachi was leaving, I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. My mother insisted on me doing so.

He leaned in close to my ear and said, "I'll meet you in your room." He walked out the door and I turned to my mom.

"He is very nice. I approve." She said, giving me and hug.

"Uh huh." I said and walked up the steps to my room. When I walked in, Itachi was sitting on my bed holding a yellow lily. He held it out to me and said, "This is for you."

I took it and sniffed it. It smelled wonderful. I hugged him. "Thank you. It's lovely."

"You're welcome." Itachi said, staring intently at me.

"What?" I asked.

"You're eyes are a really pretty blue." He said. I felt a blush creep up my neck and into my cheeks. Itatchi laughed and he kissed me.

I was surprised at first but then I relaxed and wrapped my arms around his neck and tangled my fingers in his hair. Itachi's arms wrapped around my waist. I felt like I was flying. My heart was racing as his hands moved up and down my sides and all around my lower an upper back. When I finally pulled away, I could hardly breathe. I looked up at Itatchi and smiled. He smiled back at me and he got up.

I pulled my knees up to my chest. He kissed my forehead and walked to the window. He waved and disappeared into the night.

I sat and stared and the flower he had given me. I felt a tingling feeling in the pit of my stomach staring at the yellow lily. I smiled and pulled the covers up to my chin and fell asleep with the flower pressed to my cheek.

When I woke up the next my mother was opening my window. "Hi, sweetheart, glad to see you've woken up. I need you to go into the store for today while I go shopping. And I need you for the next couple days while your father is delivering some flowers to the Sand village. Is that alright?"

"Yeah, that's fine." I said. I got up and into the shower and went to the shop.

When I walked in, I stopped dead in my tracks. The sight I saw made me so furious. Sakura Haruno had pressed Itachi up against the wall and they were kissing. I was so mad; I threw a vase at her pink head. It shattered an inch away from her.

Sakura twisted around and saw me standing there. She flashed me a cocky smile and fled from the store.

I pushed past Itachi and picked up the glass and threw it all away. Itatchi dogged my every step until I finally turned around and shouted, "Get out!"

He looked hurt but he backed out of the store and took off, his robe trailing behind him.

I sat down behind the counter and cried. Sakura stole my boyfriend once again. First Sasuke, now Itachi. Couldn't she just leave well enough alone?

At one o'clock, my mother came in and took over.

I walked home and just sat on my bed, staring at the flower. I was sitting there, when all of the sudden I heard my window creaking open. I looked up to see Itachi.

"Ino, it was Sakura who kissed me. I didn't kiss her. I promise you that." He sounded sincere but I couldn't tell.

"I'm sure that's what you want me to believe." I said, harshly.

"No, it's the truth." He pulled out a white daffodil. I gasped. White daffodils were my favorite flower. Itachi handed it to me."Forgive me?"

I laughed and nodded. He kissed me, more passionate than the first time. When we broke apart, I pressed my nose into the flower and sniffed. It smelled wonderful. Like dew-covered grass in the early summer morning.

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**I hope you liked this story. I think that adding the parts of Ino's book was a good touch, don't you? Well, thanks for reading. Please review! **


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